Ocia Smith
June 21, 1932 – November 23, 2001
O.C. Smith was an R&B and jazz vocalist whose recording career began with a cover of Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti” in 1955. In 1961, Smith was hired by Count Basie to sing lead in his band. He did so until 1965. Smith continued to perform and record on his own during and after that time, but didn’t strike gold until 1968 when his “Son Of Hickory Holler’s Tramp” reached #2 in the UK and landed in the U.S. top 40. He followed that up with “Little Green Apples,” which reached #2 on the U.S. pop chart, sold in excess of one million copies, and earned Smith a Grammy for song of the year in 1969. Smith continued to record records over the next two decades, many of which charted in either the U.S. or UK. In later years, he became a pastor and started his own church in Los Angeles. O.C. Smith was 69 when he passed away on November 23, 2001.
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